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Candyce22 Asked February 2016

What do I need to be able to provide medical care and make decisions for mom who is moving?

Mom is moving to Oregon, my brother is her guardian in Nevada, what do I need to be able to provide medical care and make decisions for mom without having to get permission first. My brother and I are planning on moving mom to Oregon permanently. We don't want to have to wait for the lengthy process of transfer of guardianship. We plan on changing guardianship, but need to make sure I have medical control for mom. Any suggestions. I want to move mom here safely, without legal recourse.


 


 

GardenArtist Feb 2016
You might want to do some research or check with the courts in both states to determine if reciprocity exists between the two states on guardianship.

JoAnn29 Feb 2016
Supplementals don't always go state to state. We found this when MIL was trying to be transferred from Fla to Ga. Also, Medicare doesn't mean you are on medicaid asca supplemental unless low income. My Mom has AARP and I have BC/BS thru former employers.

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Rainmom Feb 2016
My mom is on medicare and her supplemental is through her retirement plan and is Kaiser. I do know that a current guardian can give POA authority to another person - at least in Oregon - although I am not sure about the situation crossing state lines. It's something I looked into regarding future planning for my son. I also came across states allowing guardianship to be transferred - that's where the state provisional order of transfer comes into play. Even with that you are most likely going to have to go through most of the hoopla necessary in Oregon to gain guardianship.

jeannegibbs Feb 2016
pamstegma, a supplement to Medicare does not usually mean Medicaid. It is an additional policy to cover some of the things Medicare does not cover. Mine is with Blue Cross, for example.

ferris1 Feb 2016
Candyce22- Just remember that Social Security does not accept POAs. You will need to get their form signed by a doctor saying she is incapacitated so you will become her "Representative Payee". Glad to make you chuckle early in the day!

pamstegma Feb 2016
This is the second time the poster has asked. The answer is still the same. He has a court order making him the guardian. The law requires any relocation to be approved by the court. Not him. The court.
Mom has Medicare and a "supplement", meaning Medicaid. Medicaid is granted state by state. When you leave the state, Medicaid STOPS and you must re-establish eligibility in the new state. This takes months.
So in the new state, you will only have Medicare. No Guardian authority. No way to sign for anything on her behalf. Once a person is determined incompetent by a court, they cannot sign a POA. They have no capacity.
You have to find new doctors. You can't sign and neither can she for any medical stuff. A real can of worms.
If you intend to move the bank accounts, you can't. They are under control of the guardian and the surrogate's court in the old location.
Talk to an attorney before you move. This is a complex situation and has many legal pitfalls you want to avoid.

Rainmom Feb 2016
I will add that going the guardianship route will also involve more participation from your mother. Most likely even though this looks like a transfer of guardianship a judge will still order two evaluations to determine your mothers competency - even though it was done in your brothers state. My son functions at a two yr old level and is completely nonverbal - conditions that were clearly stated in submitted medical and school reports - the judge still ordered two independent psychological exams. I gotta admit I got a giggle listening to the shrinks trying to interview my son and trying to get him to make choices and preform certain tasks. What wasn't so funny was the fact I had to pay for these little farces!

Rainmom Feb 2016
I live in Oregon. I can tell you first hand that getting guardianship here IS lengthy and expensive. In my case I was getting guardianship of my disabled adult son to which there were no challenges or objections and it still took quite a while. In your case you will need a certified copy of the other states provisional order of transfer as well, just to add to the fun. As your mothers guardian, your brother can grant you both medical and finanical DPOA and retain his rights as guardian. It can be done this way as long as brother consents and it does keep your mother out of the mix. Make sure you get DPOA instead of regular POA as this will allow you to retain decision making authority if in fact your mom is legally incompetent. In Oregon DPOA or POA does not need to be filed in court but it does need to be notarized so your brother will need to make a trip here. You also don't need a lawyer to do this but since your situation is complicated it definately would be the smart choice. If nothing else, consider the DPOA for the time in between guardianship transfer as that is likely to take some time and decisions, payments etc are bound to be needed in the interim. And who knows, you may find it works just fine and decide to keep it like that rather than doing the much more complicated guardianship route. In my case - a simple, uncontested guardianship, it took at least six months.

JohnnyJ Feb 2016
I am not sure why a POA for her health care and also her finances wouldn't work just as well as a guardianship and they are easier to obtain with no court involvement, unless she is already incapable of rationally agreeing to this. That would be a very different matter. We found the POA forms on the internet and they may vary from state to state. We had them notarized at their local bank where I was put on their checking account as a legal signer in my role of POA. It seemed pretty easy and I am in charge of everything now. I am being very careful with their money and make sure not a penny of it comes to me, but sometimes I wish there were someone else, like a court representative, to whom I would be accountable and who could give me a set of standards to follow just to make sure I am doing everything correctly. I think I am, but have never done this before.

Candyce22 Feb 2016
He is agreeing with the move. I understand it takes quite some time to transfer guardianship, which he has now. I have been told a Medical POA is what I will need. Mom is on Medicare with a supplement. I believe it would be better to have guardianship. What is most important is giving mom a better quality of life, and my brother and sister-in-law some much needed relief. Ferris you gave me quite a good chuckle this morning. Thank you, no kidnapping. Promise

Guestshopadmin Feb 2016
Please also remember that if your mother is on Medicaid, you will need to reapply in the new state for any associated services. If he is her guardian, and she is receiving money from pensions, etc. you will need to the representative payee information updated with the guardianship so that her funds will follow her caregiver.

ferris1 Feb 2016
Have your brother sign an affidavit saying he is giving permission for your control. Try to get POA and medical power of attorney since you will need documents to access banks and medical issues. Is your brother not agreeing with the move? Try to get it BEFORE the move. Kidnapping is a federal offense.

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